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Eddie was going to punch someone. Someone being his best friend's boyfriend.
In for three, out for three. You just got Christopher back, you don’t need to go to jail for elder abuse.
“I’m just saying, Evan, that most people just pick something up that’s store bought for these things.”
Unluckily for everyone involved, Buck’s stove had stopped working so he’s making his side dishes for the annual LAFD Family Day at the Diaz house, and of course Tommy had to join him.
“Well I’m not most people, Thomas.” Eddie had to hide the snicker at the use of that man’s full name. “I actually enjoy cooking.”
Eddie glanced over at Buck, who was just complaining to him the night before that he always cooks because when it’s Tommy’s turn for dinner, it's always take-out.
“Well, now we’re going to be late. Honestly, Evan, it’s a wonder you ever make it anywhere on time.”
Buck took a deep breath and continued to scoop his potato salad into a reusable serving bowl, angrily snapping the lid on.
So yeah, Eddie is ready to punch someone.
“You know he hates being called Evan, right?” Chris asks, walking past the adults to grab his water off the counter.
“Chris, it’s fine.” Buck whispers to the teenager.
“Sure, alright Timothy. Y'all ready to go?” Four months in Texas and he’s picked up the southern slang, and a bit more Spanish.
“Christopher!” Eddie whisper-scalds, following the 14 year old to the door.
“Sorry about him, you know how teenagers are.” Buck says sheepishly, grabbing his four containers and walking out of the house after making sure the over was turned off.
“Sure.”
…
Thankfully, this year‘s family day was in October, so it’s not blazing hot outside. That didn’t stop them from setting up the dunking tank though.
Unluckily for Eddie, it was the 118’s year to be victims- uh volunteers- for the booth.
His extra change of clothes and towels were sitting in a duffle bag. He’s only happy he’s not first, poor Chim drew the short straw for that one.
“Alright, what should we do first?” Buck asks after coming back from dropping his food off.
“Cornhole?” Tommy suggests and Christopher groans.
“I’m going to go find Denny and Mara.” He gets up from the table and storms away. Eddie sighs and turns back to Buck and Tommy.
“I’m down for cornhole.”
“It’s really a two or four person game, it doesn’t really work with three.” Tommy brushes Eddie off and grabs Buck’s hand, pulling him towards the cornhole games set up in the back corner of the park.
And he was alone, again.
With a groan, Eddie stood up from the table to go search for someone he knew and could have a conversation with.
Hen and Karen were working the face painting booth, Bobby and the captain from the 108 were manning the grills, Chimney was occupied with the dunk tank, and Ravi was…flirting?
Maddie.
Maddie was free, just watching the playground to make sure none of the kids got hurt or needed anything.
He walked over and sat beside her on the bench, well more like plopped down in a defeated way.
“I couldn’t help but notice that you arrived with Buck and Tommy.” Maddie says once she realizes that it’s Eddie that sat beside her.
“Yeah, Buck’s oven wasn’t working right so he used mine to make his side dishes for today. Tommy came to pick us all up.”
“MmmHmm.” Maddie purses her lips and nods, “and how do you feel about that?”
“Everytime I am in the same room with that man, I feel like punching him in his abnormal nose.” Eddie isn’t sure when it happened, but he and Maddie had become close friends.
Maybe they bonded over the hatred of Buck’s boyfriend.
“I feel you there. Buck brought him to dinner last week and, I don’t know, something about the way he talks to my brother rubs me the wrong way.” Maddie shakes her head in disgust. “You know he calls him ‘kid’ as a pet name?”
Eddie gags. “I haven’t had the privilege of hearing that one yet, but in the ten minutes he was in my house this morning he called Buck ‘Evan’ about 50 times.”
Maddie rolls her eyes.
“Christopher doesn’t like him either,” Eddie mentions.
“You’ve raised a smart kid.”
Maddie is silent for a few moments. “So, that other thing we talked about at wine night, where are you at with that?”
Eddie’s heart stops for a second. “I talked with Frank some more, and, well…more like I cried for an hour on his couch after we broke through the wall of ‘it’s okay to be in love with a boy.’ So yeah, I’m…gay. You’re the first person outside of therapy I’ve said that to, with those words.
Maddie does what any big sister does, she pulls Eddie into a hug and tells him she is proud of him.
“I think Buck is going to break up with Tommy,” Karen’s voice behind them causing them to break from their sweet moment and jump. “Or he already did.”
She circles around to sit on the other side of Maddie and pulls her phone out, clicking play on a video.
There’s no sound, but they can clearly make out Buck and Tommy in a heated argument, nowhere near the cornhole game. The video clearly started after the argument was in full swing but still lasted a good two minutes, with a very red Buck and exaggerated hand movements. It ends with Buck making a face and storming away, Tommy looking bored and immediately pulling out his phone.
“I’m going to go find him,” Eddie says, pushing off the bench turning in the direction of the cookout.
“Wait, before you go,” Karen says, grabbing his arm. “Did your conversation have anything to do with what we talked about at wine night?”
Eddie smiles lightly and nods. “After a very draining therapy session, I can definitely say that I’m 100 percent gay.”
Karen squeals and jumps up to hug Eddie. “Oh I am so proud of you! Now, go! Find your man!”
“He’s not my man,” Eddie mumbles, wishing he could blame the reddening of his cheeks in the heat.
“Yet!” Maddie and Karen say at the same time before laughing.
Eddie shakes his head at the both of them before walking away.
He finds Buck with Bobby and Carson from B-shift, and a majority of his new trivia team Smoke and Mirrors. It’s a team I’d eight queer firefighters from their battalion of the LAFD, something Buck had started when he first started digging into his sexuality and realized just how many LGBTQ+ people that were also firefighters.
“-was just done, Pops. With everything.”
Eddie catches the tail end of whatever Buck was saying before sitting down next to him on the picnic table, only then noticing the tiny human in his lap.
Probably Carson’s baby that he and his husband just adopted, it makes the most logical sense.
“Well hello there Mr. Smiley, how are you today?” Eddie says, grabbing the baby’s hand and shaking it, causing the baby to giggle.
“And what about you?” Eddie says, looking up at Buck with concern.
“God word travels fast around here,” Buck groans but bounces the baby in his lap anyway to keep him happy. “I broke up with Tommy. And I don’t really want to talk about it.”
Buck pauses for a second, readjusts the baby, and then turns to look at Bobby. “You mind giving me, Eddie and Chris a ride back home at the end of this?”
Home. Home. Home. Buck holding a baby. Home. Home. Home.
“Eddie, you good?” Carson asks, turning away from the grill and snapping his tongs to get Eddie’s attention.
“Uh, yeah, good. I think it’s my shift for the dunk tank.” He stands up from the table and places one hand on Buck’s shoulder.
“If you need anything, come find me.”
“I think I’m good right here with Tobias.” Buck says, making googly eyes at the baby to make him laugh. “But yeah, I’ll come find you.”
It wasn’t quite time for his dunking booth shift yet, but he had gossip he needed to share and thoughts he needed to shake off.
Once he’s out of sight of Bobby, Buck, and Carson, Eddie takes off running back toward the playground.
“I can see why they made you live bait for the bees.” Karen laughed as Eddie hunches over the back of the bench to catch his breath.
“Buck. Tommy. Donezo.” He managed to get out between breaths.
“Wait, seriously?” Maddie turns around, with a grin from ear to ear. “Yay.”
Eddie scrunches his eyebrows at her.
“Not ‘yay, my brother had another break up’ but ‘yay, I never have to see that man again.”
“Heard!” Karen agrees and all three of them burst out in giggles.
“What are we gossiping about, and why wasn’t I invited?” Athena asks, walking up to the three of them, still in her uniform.
“Oh, uh, Buck broke up with Tommy.” Eddie says, stand straight up having gotten his breathing under control.
“Well it’s about damn time!” Athena says, sitting on the edge of the bench and pulling her sunglasses on top of her head. “Now, when are you going to make a move on your man?”
Eddie looks taken aback by her statement. How-
“I’m a cop, honey, it’s my job to be observant. You look at my boy like he hung the moon and the stars and all of the planets. I may be getting up there in age, but my eyes are still sharp.” Athena stares Eddie down until he gives in.
“You’re right,” he sighs. “He’s…god he’s the best person in my life behind Christopher, no offense. But, it hasn’t even been an hour since he broke up with Tommy, so I can’t just move forward…can I?”
“I think you’d be surprised,” Karen says, offering Eddie a comforting hand.
“Maddie, he’s your brother, what do you think?”
“I think that you make my brother extremely happy, and-“ she pauses. “I think that, months ago, it was never Tommy’s attention Buck was trying to get. Eddie, Evan loves you. He had for years, maybe not in the same capacity as now, but I think you’d be a fool and missing out on so much happiness for the both of you if you wait any longer to tell him how you feel.”
Eddie nods and swallows the lump in his throat. “I gotta go. It’s my shift for the dunk tank.”
…
“You know, you didn’t have to blow Eddie off like that.” Buck says, grabbing the three green beanbags and walking over to his side.
“What? Did I lie? It’s a two or four person game. You really can’t play with three people.” Tommy tosses his red beanbag and just misses the board.
“Still, he could have joined us. He could have played the winner.” Buck shrugs and throws his bag, making it on the board but not in the hole.
“Look I’m sorry if I wanted a little alone time with my boyfriend without his shadow following,” Tommy tosses his beanbag with a little more aggression this time.
“Oh, I’m your boyfriend now? That’s not what you said last week at dinner.” Buck scoffs and throws his next beanbag.
“Evan,” Tommy rolls his eyes like he’s already tired of the conversation.
“I mean, I get it, running into your ex is awkward. If Taylor Kelly were to show up, I’d probably run for the hills. But introducing me as your friend, and then spending the whole dinner looking at him and his boyfriend eat their dinner kind of stings!”
“Oh, that’s real big, coming from you!” Tommy shouts and throws his last beanbag in the ground, grabbing back and pulling him behind the tree so their argument (the third this week) is less public.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I am sick and tired of being the recurring guest on the Buck and Eddie and Christopher show. It's alway ‘Eddie is sad because he’s a shit parent so I need to drop everything to make sure he’s happy’ or ‘Chris has a school project he needs help with so I need to go help him.’ News flash Evan, he’s not your kid. Eddie is not your husband. They are not your family, and the sooner you get that through your head, the better our relationship could be.”
Buck does not need to almost kill another person this year.
He takes a deep breath in for five and out for five, counting to three doing nothing to calm his simmering anger.
“Eddie is the best damn dad that I know,” Buck takes another breath, ready to finish his statement when he’s interrupted.
“Well it’s not like you have much to compare him to.” Tommy realizes his mistake as soon as the words cross his crusty lips. “Evan, wait, I didn’t-“
“My name is Buck. And why don’t you just go ahead and call your ex back, I know he’s called you everyday since last week. And while you’re at, delete my number from your phone and never call me again, we’re done.”
“Evan…Buck, Baby, wait. We can ta-“
“I’m not your baby. I’ll leave any of your stuff that I find out on the curb with the trash, it’ll fit right in.”
Buck storms away, aiming directly for where he saw Carson from B-shift heading with the brand new baby, as well as some of his Smoke and Mirrors team mates. He needed a distraction from the shit show that just went down.
“Buckley, hey man!” Carson says, greeting him and watching as he takes a seat at the picnic table beside Bobby. “You good?”
“I just broke up with my boyfriend, I came here for baby snuggles.” He makes grabby hands for the three month old strapped to his coworkers and sorta friend’s chest.
“Uh sure man, Tobias cuddles are magical.” He hands the baby over and Buck pulls him close to his chest.
“Hey buddy, how are you today?” Tobias gurgles in response and Buck chuckles. “Yeah, I remember that day too.”
“Do you want to talk about it? The grill is pretty much handling itself right now.” Bobby asks, leaning over to play peak-a-boo with the baby.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me how awful he actually was? Like was I really just that blind?” Buck looks up and between the handful of his coworkers that were standing around, avoiding eye contact.
“He was really close with Gerrard back when I was at the 118, so I always thought he was a little…conservative.” Anderson from the 132, and Buck’s Wednesday trivia team, adds. ”You’re a great guy Buck, and a hell of a trivia player. I mean, our team would never make it past the first round without you. So when I heard you were dating him, I think it just confused me more than anything. I mean you’re like Peeta Mellark, and he’s President Snow, and not the hot one from the newest movie either.”
“I would have concerns for your eyesight if you thought that man was comparable to Tom Blythe.” Carson adds, grabbing some wrapped up shish kebab from his bag and adding them to the grill. “And honestly, Donald Sutherland was a hottie in his prime. He’s probably rolling in his grave at the awful comparison.”
Buck chuckles and turns back towards Bobby.
“I just don’t know what to do. He just always would make these snide comments. Sometimes about me needing to get tested for ADHD, or how I need to grow up. He even told me that I needed to lay off the lasagna or I wouldn’t be able to do rope rescues much longer. I mean, what kind of boyfriend says things like that?”
“I don’t know, kid. You know I support you in every decision that you make, good or bad, but even I never really understood why you were dating him. I mean, did you have anything in common?”
“No, not really.” Buck shrugs, making a face at Tobias to get him to giggle.
“Well, how do you feel about the break up?”
“I don’t know, I’m not sad, I don’t think. I guess this has kind of been building up for a while now, I just hate that it had to happen today, when we’re supposed to be having a fun day. But I was just done, Pops. With everything.”
…
Eddie wishes he would have grabbed his sunglasses before climbing to the top of the dunking booth.
“How much of this water is your backwash?” He asks, looking over at Chimney who was dripping in water.
“I’d say about 30 percent. Good luck bud, I’ll save you a burger.”
From here, Eddie could see everything. Christopher, Denny, Mara and a few other kids in their age range were playing some kind of game out in the field. Maddie and Karen were still at the playground, along with a couple other spouses and firefighters with younger kids.
Buck was still with Bobby and his trivia crew, looking as amazing as ever, especially holding a baby.
He would have a million babies with Buck if he asked, just to watch how good he is with them.
Sadly, he could also see that Tommy was still here and walking straight towards him.
“Eddie, just the man I was looking for!” He’s entirely too cheery for a man who just got broken up with.
“Hey Tommy.” Eddie wishes he could run away, but his only option is into the dunk tank and he’s not sure he could hold his breath long enough for Tommy to get the hint and leave.
“I take it you heard the news, I broke up with Evan.”
“You broke up with him?” Eddie crosses his arms over his chest.
“Ha, I guess Evan just wanted to save face when he told you. Yeah, I just didn’t see the point in continuing the relationship, knowing it wasn’t going anywhere.”
“Right,” Eddie rolls his eyes.”And you thought the company picnic would be the perfect place to do that? Surrounded by all of his friends and family.”
“Well, I was going to wait, but he threw an absolute fit over something and I just really didn’t see the point in dragging it out.”
Eddie nods again and looks anywhere but at the troll, uh, person, standing below him.
“Anyway, enough about Evan.” Tommy smiles and sticks his hands in his pockets. “I’ve got two tickets to the Rams game tomorrow, wanna join?”
“Unbelievable!” Eddie had to laugh. “Get out of here, Ruco.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, fodongo. You’re crazy if you think I’d believe you over Buck.”
“You know he’s always been a little bit over dramatic-“
“Frankly, I don’t care what you think about Buck, because he’s not yours to think about anymore.” Eddie is fuming and seriously rethinking taking a dip in the pool below him. “You had this amazing man and you didn’t know how to handle him. Sure he’s a little eccentric and over excited at times, but if you can’t see that that’s a positive quality to have in a partner then you’re just a pinche pendejo.”
“Look, can you not insult me in Spanish? I mean, we’re in LA not Tijuana.”
“Vete a la verga, Tommy. I hope you have the life that you deserve.”
Tommy walks away, but not before punching the board and sending Eddie straight into the lukewarm water below him.
Asshole. He thinks as he’s coming up from air.
“You look like you could use a towel,” Buck says, coming from around the other side of the dunk tank.
Eddie forgets how to breathe for a second. Buck is standing there, back lit by the sun and he just looks ethereal.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“I got here when he asked you on a date and stayed for the rest,” Buck shrugs and waits as Eddie climbs down the ladder before handing him his towel. “You know, you could have told me he was trying to date you first, could’ve saved me a few months of my life.”
“I didn’t realize that’s what he was trying to do at first,” Eddie says honestly. “But I was seriously repressed a few months ago.”
“And now?” Buck asks, moving closer and pushing a stray hair out of Eddie’s face.
“A whole lot less repressed. And a certified hater of all of your exes.”
Buck chuckles and pulls Eddie into a hug, despite the fact that he is soaking wet, it’s his turn in the tank anyway.
“When you say ‘less repressed’ you mean?”
“Gay, totally gay.” Eddie pulls back but keeps his hands on Buck’s waist. “And sort of head over heels in love with you.”
“Oh thank god,” Buck sighs before bending down and taking Eddie's mouth with his, tilting Eddie’s world in its axis.
It’s not a long kiss, not in the slightest, but it’s the best damn kiss of Eddie’s life. His heart flutters in his chest and he has to concentrate on not popping his foot up like the heroine in a romance movie.
“That’s what it’s supposed to feel like,” Eddie all but sobs into Buck’s chest once he pulls away. “I’ve never- it’s never felt like that before. I just thought I was broken.”
“Never broken,” Buck kisses the top of his head. “Just seriously repressed, remember?”
The end